The Path to the Cross Begins

The worship spaces retain their green vestments through Season after Epiphany which continues into the month of February. The chancel may be vested in white or gold for the season’s concluding Sunday, the Transfiguration of Christ, February 22, which recalls Christ’s transfiguration on the mountain with Elijah and Moses. The penitential season of Lent, during which the chancel will again be vested in purple, begins on Ash Wednesday, February 25. On Ash Wednesday, the sign of the cross is marked with ashes on the foreheads of the penitent. The ashes, traditionally, are from the previous year’s fronds waved on Palm Sunday. The season of Lent–the name of which comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for spring--lasts forty days excluding Sundays. References from at least the ninth century identify Lent as a variable number of days for fasting and preparation for baptism by converts. Since then is has become a period of penance for members of the community of faith whose length could be reminiscent of Moses, Elias, Christ, and the forty hours, according to tradition, Christ lay in the tomb. Alleluias, visual and musical and spoken, may be “put away” until Easter Sunday. Visuals for the season of Lent may include ash gray and rough-textured cloth for paraments, stoles, and banners. Shiny objects and flowers may be removed from the worship area. A rough cross, made from the trunk of the Chrismon tree, may be placed in or near the worship space. Crosses are veiled in purple until Easter. The path to the cross has begun.

Resources

The United Methodist Book of Worship, 1992, The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, TN.

Thurston, Herbert, The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907, Robert Appleton Company.

Wise Men Still Seek Him

The season of Christmastide continues into January and the festive white and gold remains on the chancel until Epiphany Sunday (the first Sunday in January) when the Magi are added to the creche. (The Feast of Epiphany is January 6.) Epiphany Sunday marks not only the end of Christmastide, but also the end of the Christmas Cycle in which the preparatory season of Advent is signified by the color purple and the celebratory season of Christmastide by white. The first Sunday after Epiphany commemorates the Baptism of the Lord. The chancel is again vested in white, as it would be for baptisms. Successive Sundays until Lent are vested in green. The Sundays after Epiphany are sometimes referred to as Ordinary time, not because they lack significance, but because they are ordered (first, second, third) after a festival day. The green vestments indicates this period is a time for growth in the community of faith, and other symbology may include a baptismal font, water jars reminiscent of the miracle at Cana, and candles for the Transfiguration.

Resource: The United Methodist Book of Worship, 1992, The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, TN.